Auditory processing in primate cerebral cortex

Auditory information is relayed from the ventral nucleus of the medial geni culate complex to a core of three primary or primary-like areas of auditory cortex that are cochleotopically organized and highly responsive to pure t ones. Auditory information is then distributed from the core areas to a sur rounding belt of about seven areas that are less precisely cochleotopic and generally more responsive to complex stimuli than tones. Recent studies in dicate that the belt areas relay to the rostral and caudal divisions of a p arabelt region at a third level of processing in the cortex lateral to the belt. The parabelt and belt regions have additional inputs from dorsal and magnocellular divisions of the medial geniculate complex and other parts of the thalamus. The belt and parabelt regions appear to be concerned with in tegrative and associative functions involved in pattern perception and obje ct recognition. The parabelt fields connect with regions of temporal, parie tal, and frontal cortex that mediate additional auditory functions, includi ng space perception and auditory memory.